Drinks in which different ingredients are mixed together, trying to harmonize a unique taste qualities and characteristics. The word Cocktail first appeared in the edition of May 16, 1806 the "Balance and Columbian Repository" which gave the following definition: "Cocktail is a stimulating liquor composed of spirits of Any Kind, sugar, water and bitters."

The first publication of a guide that included cocktail recipes was dated 1862: How to Mix Drinks or The Bon Vivant's Companion, by Professor Jerry Thomas. In addition to the usual list of mix drinks with liquor, reported there were 10 recipes that were referred to as "Cocktails".

The ingredient which differentiated in this compendium of the "cocktails" from other drinks was the use of bitter, even though this is not a common ingredient in moderne recipes.

During Prohibition in the U.S. (1919-1933), when consumption of alcohol was illegal, cocktails were still drunk in "speakeasies" real underground gambling dens in which hated going to break the law of prohibition. During this period the quality of the liquor was poor compared to previous periods, and for this reason, the bartenders tended to mix liquor with other ingredients.

Just go back to this period is the first real collection of cocktail recipes for the modern era, especially in Europe, with 900 "recettes de cocktail" of Torelli, bartender in Paris, in 1927 and The Sailoy Cocktail (English), 1931 . To the prevalence and success of cocktails contributed in a decisive way the cinema and literature.

The etymology of the word cocktail is not clear.

However, there are several hypotheses about its origin: it may be derived from English words cock (rooster) and tail (tail), in Fascist Italy was also adopted this literal translation, perhaps due to the fact that around 1400 in rural England are drinking a colorful drink inspired by the colors of the tail of the cock, may have originated from the mixture of alcohol "cock-ale", a drink that was given to the roosters in the eighteenth century before them fight to increase strength and ardor; could come from the French "Coquetier", French container for egg that was used to serve liquor in New Orleans during the nineteenth century; another hypothesis always linked to French is that the modern term would be derived from the word "coquetel", the name of a long drink in the Bordeaux area, could be a distortion from the Latin aqua decoct, that distilled water could ultimately derive from the legend that tells of a wealthy British ship, landing in South America, celebrated by drinking European liquors and tropical juices mixed with a colorful feather rooster.

They are, however, better known the birth and development of cocktails through the ages. The first example is found in the mix "Quirites", a drink used by the Romans, consisting of mulled wine mixed with honey. It remained in vogue for many centuries, even after the fall of the Roman Empire, until, at the court of France led by Catherine de Medici, began to stir the wine cooked with citrus juices and giving impetus to the development of new beverages mainly consisting of mixtures of medicinal herbs and other spirits.

At the cocktail in the modern sense, therefore, it came through the evolution of beverages born with health purposes, as an aperitif, digestive, tonic, etc.